Following Jesus at university

But beyond all that, what is it you’re really hoping for from your time at university? To discover God’s call on your life, grow in your relationship with Him, and go into the world ready to make a difference for Him? Or is it just to get your head down, get a degree and get out of there?

For over 50 years, Agapé Students has been envisioning and equipping students to use this time to Discover, Grow and Go as whole-hearted disciples of Jesus Christ.

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Discover

Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, Jesus is calling you to get to know Him. University is one of the best possible times we have to do this. After all, when Jesus first invited a ragtag bunch of fishers, tax collectors, religious zealots, and more, to be His disciples, they will all have been young, perhaps even university aged. The call to follow Him still rings out on university campuses across the globe. Will you enroll in a life class with Jesus? 

Discovering Him could look like getting involved with a Christian community on your campus, as well as opening up your Bible to read stories about His life, or even having a go talking to Him in prayer. This is what it looks like to begin discovering the person of Jesus. Plus, one of the best things about an infinite God is that, whether you’ve been a Christian for five years or five minutes, there’s always more to discover!

Grow

As we discover more about Jesus we learn He doesn’t want us to just stay the same. He wants us to deepen our relationship with Him and even become more like Him, a process He describes as ​‘bearing fruit’ (John 15:5.) What this fruit looks like gets a fuller breakdown in Galatians 5:22 – 23, but broadly speaking, it can be summed up as: love for God, and love for other people. Now, obviously, fruit takes time to grow. You can’t microwave an orange to make it ripen. In fact, please don’t! However, there are some things we can do to foster an environment where the Holy Spirit can grow these ​‘Jesus-like’ qualities in us. Many of them are the same as the discovery phase: Bible reading, prayer, getting stuck into a good church, and seeking to obey God moment by moment. It can also mean getting involved with an on-campus group dedicated to making Jesus known at university and seeking opportunities to grow in sharing your faith.

Go

In some of His final words to His students, Jesus gave what is now known as the Great Commission:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:16 – 20).

This is when our faith ceases just to be something happening inside of us and becomes something we share with others. It’s anything from learning to talk to your friends about spiritual things, sharing something about your relationship with Jesus and inviting them to church with you, or even stepping out in faith through a short-term mission trip (if that sounds interesting, follow this link to see some of Agapé UK’s overseas opportunities: And abroad — Agapé UK (agape​.org​.uk) ). This is not just for ​‘professional missionaries’ but is a way of life that every Christian can adopt, living out our faith authentically and telling others about the difference Jesus has made to our lives. You can also keep up to date with our latest events by visiting What’s On — Agapé UK (agape​.org​.uk).

Being at university is a time unlike any other in your life. It’s a time to find out who God says you are, to seize the destiny He is longing to write for you, and to help change the world!

Or maybe you could just get your head down, get a degree, and get out of there.

The choice is yours.